Please visit: http://modebayo-awosika-of-blessedmemory.com
By Ebun Awosika
It is exactly one year ago today that my dear husband and doting father of two was brutality and senselessly taken away from all of us that truly loved him. It’s still very hard to comprehend and even harder to accept.
Bayo’s future was full of so much promise. None of us, least of all he expected the unimaginable that occurred in the early hours of Nigeria’s Independence day, last year. The only one that sensed danger was too young to voice it at the time. We all assumed she wanted Daddy close to her all the time; no one could ever have anticipated that the human capacity for evil would rear its head with such ease and ferocity in Bayo’s direction, on that ill-fated night. We see it on TV all the time, we read stories about them too often, these “human beings” whose thirst for blood compels them to commit acts of wanton savagery as soon as any opportunity presents itself to them.
During this period, the Nigeria Police Force has been very loyal to its own. There was an inquest conducted which clearly established that an innocent citizen was callously murdered by one of them. They even showed up sometimes and attempted to make a mockery of the whole thing. Some of them even found the whole proceedings “funny.”
The loved ones that Bayo left behind don’t find it funny at all, they are still grieiving as if it just happened. How can anyone erase that look on his face in the coffin from their sub-consciious, ever. How does one reconcile “I’m on my way home now” to the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh, the same night.
After the inquest, the Chief Coroner of Lagos State, Justice Yetunde Idowu issued some additional directives which have already been published and which is reproduced below:
1. The Commissioner of Police Lagos State cause a wanted person’s advert to be placed in two national dailies within 30 days from the date this verdict is signed declaring Benjamin Oyigie wanted in connection with the death of Modebayo Awosika and ensure his arrest.
2. In the event that the Commissioner of Police Lagos State does not effect the above order, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Lagos State shall be at liberty to cause a wanted person’s advert to be placed in two national dailies declaring Benjamin Oyigie wanted in connection with the death of Modebayo Awosika.
3. The Commissioner of Police Lagos State should investigate or cause investigation to be conducted to determine the involvement of Benjamin Oyigie, Akpan David and any other person who may be implicagted in the death of Modebayo Awosikle.
4. The Commissioner of Police Lagos State is directed to cause a ballistic expert to examing the bullet fragments obtained by the Forensic Pathologist from the body of Modebayo Awosika, and compare same with bullet fragments from the service weapon in the custody of the Benjamin Oyigie and Akpan David at the time Modebayo Awosika was shot with a view to determine whether any of the service weapons was used in firing the shot that killed Modebayo Awosika.
Still no action from the Nigerian Police. None whatsoever. They have never even pretended to try to find the perpetrators of this heinous crime. Not at all. I guess we live in a country where such a degree of callousness and disregard for the sanctity of human life and the rule of law has now become acceptable. We certainly did not inherit these habits from our colonial masters; we have found a way to excel in them on our own. In fact, the people who carry out atrocities or condone and encourage same in our Fatherland are usually the ones rewarded with choice apartments, lucrative deals and the keys to Aso Rock city. These are the people who procreate with relish (with as many partners as possible) forgetting that their descendants will surely inherit a country full of all the evils that they have helped to nurture AND PRESERVE. No matter how wealthy they are and how well-protected, they cannot have full proof immunity from the ills of the society in which they live. ‘Ferrying’ their toddlers to private schools with armed men in uniform as escorts or driving around in bullet proof vans or boxes does not guarantee immunity, why is that so difficult for some to understand? WHY?
It is what it is. You either accept it or if not theh you have no choice but to move to another country where everything works as it should but the sense of belonging is absent no matter how hard you try. This is what the average Nigerian has come to expect 49 years after independence; how sad?
HELP US SEEK JUSTICE FOR BAYO
We have not given up on the pursuit of justice. Due to the interest generated by this tragedy at home and abroad, a website has been established to help us in our fight for justice. The website provides useful information on the events of that ill-fated night and contains an online petition for justice. Our aim is to get thousands of signatories within a target period and we are well on our way. The reasons for establishing the website are numerous, but suffice to say that we hope to generate international attention to this quest for justice in the face of local nonchalance and see where this takes us.
Kindly visit http://modebayo-awosika-of-blessedmemory.com/ and help us in our quest for justice by signing and completing the Online Petition. Thank you all very much.
We hereby express our sincere gratitude to the Hon Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, Mr Olasupo Sasore, SAN, and his staff for their tireless pursuit of justice on our behalf. Through them, we have seen that all hope is not lost in Nigeria.
Ebun is the widow of Modebayo Awosika

The reference to "today" in this piece is actually 1st October.